Apple TV Runs iOS 4.1, Jailbreak Confirmed

By

ATVHand

Apple began shipping the new Apple TV this week and the new gadget isn’t in anyone’s hands yet as far as we know. So it came as a surprise when an iPhone developer, chpwn via Twitter, found a firmware update for it and posted a download link for it. The new firmware, “AppleTV2,1_4.1_8M89_Restore.ipsw,” a 242 MB download can be downloaded from Apple’s servers now.

Apple TV is running iOS, something people were only guessing about after it was announced, and now hackers are claiming that it can be jailbroken.

The Dev-Team has posted an entry on their blog stating that they had already successfully used SHAtter, an in development iOS 4.1 exploit, to jail break the new Apple TV firmware:

It’s looking like SHAtter is going to be the gift that keeps on giving.  Even though the new AppleTV isn’t yet in people’s homes, the firmware is available on Apple’s normal public distribution servers and SHAtter has been used to decrypt its keys!

The Apple TV being released this week isn’t setup to run third-party apps, but it is possible that an Apple TV Store could happen in the near future. Hypothetically that new store could allow content creators to sell their content directly to you via Apple TV. If this ever comes to pass I might be able to finally tell cable good-bye.

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